Russia European Champion U20 -
Jul 17, 2005
Russia won European Championships U20. They beat
in the final the only undefeated (so far) team in the tournament -
Lithuania 61-53. The game was very tension and tough. Both teams
realized what they were playing for. Over 3,000 people attended the game
and most of them were fans of local Russian team. The beginning of the
game belong totally to Lithuania, who took easy 7-points lead. But
Russia catch up very shortly to 10-9 lead. Lithuania was not able to get
the lead back for the rest of the game. However they never stayed too
much behind and Russians felt very big preassure from Lithuanians. Both
teams presented very tough defense. So here it's hard to point which of
the teams gain advantage. But Russians were slightly better on the
boards (44-30) and it seems that bigger potential was on their side.
Lithuania still could win the game in the last quarter. They came as
close as 41-43. So few more successful shots could change the final
winner. But Russians handled the situation with 8-2 run and put back
their lead to 8 points. Full-court preassure of Lithuanian team did not
help a lot and Russians were able to carry the lead till the end of the
game. Lithuania failed in their stronger weapon - three point shots.
They failed it even worse than in last game against Israel, this time
being just 5/29.

Semifinals:
Lithuania and Russia advance to the final - Jul 17, 2005
Lithuania managed to secure a victory over
unexpectedly strong Israel in the last seconds of the game. In the other
semifinal host Russia defeated Serbia / Montenegro, leading the entire
game. Russia seems to be in better shape at the end of the tournament,
while Lithuania stays as the only undefeated team in the evenr (so far).
Hard to imagine more interesting final.

Semifinals:

Israel -
Lithuania66-67 (Lior
Eliyahu 27p+6r, Kazarnovski 10p+10r, Hanochi 9, Ben-Chimol 6 -
Arturas Jomantas 21p+10r, Seibutis 14,
Jonas Maciulis 12p+11r, Alijevas 11p+6r)
Despite pre-game opinions, Israel challenged Lithuanian team and the
victory were achieved just in final seconds. Lithuanian team was better
in almost all aspects of game during other games of the tournament, and
only tonight something broke down and they played way below their usual
level. For contrary Israelis played perfect game, controlling it very
well. They had early lead 16-6, which shocked Lithuanians. Second
quarter was mainly Lithuanians run to catch up with Israel, which they
managed to make 3-points lead at the half of the game. But Israelis
fought back in 3rd quarter being again ahead by 7 points. Then
Lithuanians had 11-2 run and the lead kept changing for the rest of the
game. The last seconds were extremely exciting as no team could be sure
of victory. Israelis were able to cut Lithuanian lead to just 1 point,
and Ben-Chimol missed the last shor, ending the game 67-66 for
Lithuania.
Arturas Jomantas (202-G/F-85) lead Lithuania with 21 points and 10
rebounds, while
Jonas Maciulis (199-G/F-85) added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Lior Eliyahu (204-F-85) had a game high 27 points for Israel.

Russia -
Serbia & Montenegroo64-56 (Vitali
Fridzon 17, Vyaltsev 13p+5r, Shabalkin 11, Sokolov 7p+6r, Kurbanov
7p+10r -
Uros Tripkovic 22, Pekovic 14p+11r,
Luka Bogdanovic 5, Micov 5)
After 8 minuted Russian team had already 15-4 lead and they managed the
same range of lead for the rest of the game. The hero of Russian team
was again Vitaly
Vitali Fridzon (195-G-85), who scored points in important minutes
and did not allow Serbian team to come too close. The keyy to the
victory was taking control of the boards (Russia won it 39-26) and very
successful defense by stopping
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86) and
Luka Bogdanovic (207-F/C-85).
Russia will face Lithuania tomorrow in gold medal game, while Serbia /
Montenegro will play against Israel for bronze.

Quarterfinals
RoundDay 3: Russia, Israel, Lithuania and Serbia / Montenegro go to
the semifinals - Jul 15, 2005
Four team which advanced to the semifinals are
already known: Russia, Israel, Lithuania and Serbia/Montenegro. The real
surprise id promotion of Israeli team. It was a real 'Cinderella' of the
tournament. It was a real calculation at the very end. Italian team was
clear candidate to make it to the semifinals. The only they needed was
victory against winless Greece. But there were Greels, who were leaving
the court as winners. A Thrasyvoulos Sfeikos three-pointer with just 23
seconds remaining capped a Greece victory after a furious finish in
which either side could have claimed the win. It put very unexpectedly
Israel on the second position and they will face tournament best team -
Lithuania - in the semifinals. The other pair is Serbia / Montenegro and
host Russia. The last day in group F was also very exciting. The winner
of game between France and Serbia / Montenegro got a ticket to the
semifinals. So the importance of the game was obvious. Both teams were
very close for the first half of the game. But in the 3rd quarter thanks
to spectacular performance of
Luka Bogdanovic (207-F/C-85) and
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86), Serbia / Montenegro outscored France
18-11, and they did not allow French team to come closer than 7 points
for the remindeing of the game

Lithuanian team proved to aim
only on the gold in the tournament as they defeated Serbia / Montenegro
in "early final" game tonight. But Serbian team challenged Lithuanians
on many ocasions. They did not give up for the whole game. At one point
they were even ahead 21-19 after 10-0 run, while in the third quarter
they still kept tie 44-44. Last sesonds were very exciting. Lithuanian
was 4 points ahead just 20 seconds before the end of game and the ball
was in Serbian team hands. But Lithuania is too experienced team to
allow the victory to slip away. Serbia / Montenegro was lead by
Luka Bogdanovic (207-F/C-85) (27 points) and
Nikola Pekovic (208-C-86) (14 points and 12 rebounds), while
Lithuanian best was duo of
Arturas Jomantas (202-G/F-85) (23 points) and
Renaldas Seibutis (196-G-85) (21 points).

The eyes of all experts are
focused on Group F, where two favorite teams for the title had excellent
performance last evening. Lithuania crushed France by 22 points and
Serbia / Montenegro outclassed Latvia by 20 points. It seems that one of
these two can win all of it. The most interesting game called by many
"Early Final" will be on Wednesday as Lithuania will face directly
Serbia / Montenegro.
Group E contains teams with more equal potential. Host Russia managed to
secure 4-point victory over Italy (very exciting game, read more below),
while "black horse" of the tournament - Israel - beat Greece 60-51.
In two other groups (for 9-16th positions) Croatia, Turkey, Spain and
Slovenia got important victories in day 1 of the Quarterfinals Round.

Group EGreece -
Israel51-60
Greece: Sfeikos 12, Milosevic 11, Papanikolaou 11
Israel: L.Eliyahu 20p+7r+2a, E.Eliyahu 15p+5r, Ben-Chimol 6p+8r+4a
Low score game with pressure put on defense end, especially in the last
quarter. Both teams understood importance of that game. Greek team had
good performance in 1st and 3rd quarter. But they were not able to win
any of them and that was Israel, who thanks to extraordinary performance
of
Lior Eliyahu (204-F-85) (definitely the biggest talent from Israel),
managed to get the victory.
Italy -
Russia72-76
Italy: Belinelli 24p+3a, Antonutti 13p+5r, Fattori 11
Russia: Fridzon 18, Ponkrashov 12p+9r+2a, Shabalkin 11p+8r, Komarovskiy
11, Sokolov 10p+6r, Vyaltsev 10
Very interesting game. Russians had lots to prove after their lose to
Slovenia two days ago. But there were Italians, who ruled the game, at
least first three quarters. At one points Italy had 21-points lead and
the only thing they needed is to carry that lead till the end of the
game. But Russians started a huge storm, while Italy was able to keep up
with that speed for a short period of time. 10-points lead at the
beginning of last quarter was still a huge advantage, and not too many
Russian fans believed their team would be able to get a victory. But
what happened in the fourth quarter was really unexpected. Russians came
as a completely different team and Italians were not able to challenge
them at all, being completely lost. That was perfect performance of
Vitali Fridzon (195-G-85), who scored 11 points of his 18 points in
that part of the game. Russian U20 team won that part 22-8 and that
4-points victory can be crucial for them in the entire tournament.
Russian team was way more athletic and getting control of the boards
(they won it 46-27) was the key to win the game.

Group F
Latvia -
Serbia & Mont.53-73
Latvia: Gulbis 16p+6r, Cavars 10, Patmalnieks 10
Serbia/Mont: Tripkovic 17, Pekovic 16p+11r, Bogdanovic 14p+6r, Ratkovica
9p+4r
Only the first 10-15 minutes looked like a game between two equal teams.
Then Serbian team took complete control and that was the end of the
story in that 20-points victory. But it's not a surprise as there are
such stars like
Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86),
Nikola Pekovic (208-C-86) and
Luka Bogdanovic (207-F/C-85) in Serbia and Montenegro team.
Lithuania -
France87-65
Lithuania: Seibutis 27, Maciulis 18p+7r, Jomantas 15p+9r+5a, Truskauskas
13p+6r, Alijevas 8p+4r
France: Mipoka 10, Amagou 9, Larrouquis 9, Corre 8
Similarly like in the game between Latvia and Serbia/Mon, also France
(thanks to Pierre Parker) was able to keep up with Lithuania only in
first two quarters. Lithuanians still had some troubles at that time not
being able to find a good solution to break French defense. But the
second part of the game belong completely to them and they secured
22-points victory and their clean balance (4-0) in the tournament. Worth
to mention good performance of
Renaldas Seibutis (196-G-85), who despite coming out of bench, lead
Lithuanian team with 27 points.

Lithuanian U20 team is a real
revelation of the first games of EC U20 in Moscow. In the last game they
outclassed Czech Rep. 101-57. Greece ended as the leader of Group A, but
it did not come to them such easily. The biggest upset of the day was
game between host Russian team and Slovenia, where guests from Slovenia
stoppen undefeated (so far) Russian team edging them by 1 point.

Day 3 games - End
of Preliminary Round (Sunday, July 10):

Group A
Everything was already known before the last day of Group A games. So
not a big preassure in the games. Greece and Lithuania will fight for
1-8 positions, while Germany and Ukraine will play for lower spots.
Worth to mention another good performance of one of the top prospects in
Europe
Kaspars Berzins (213-F/C-85).
Latvia will play in Group F togther with France, Lithuania and
Serbia/Montenegro, while Greece will go to Group E where they will face
Italy, Russia and Israel.
Germany -
Ukraine63-71
Germany: Bahiense de Mello 15p+5r, King 12p+4r, Stueckelman 10p+4r,
Zwiener 7p+11r
Ukraine: Pecherov 15p+14r, Dyatlovskiy 14, Shchepkin 9p+4r+4a, Gorbenko
8p+7r
Latvia -
Greece56-63
Latvia: Berzins 14p+15r, Patmalnieks 12p+4r, Gulbis 9, Sirsnis 6p+5r
Greece: Milosevic 14, Sakota 13p+10r, Vougioukas 9p+9r, Mavroeidis 8p+4r

Group B
Lithuania is indeed unstopable as they crushed tonight Czech Rep.
101-57. Follow that team as they are on the straight way to the finals.
But the real game of the day in Group B was between Belarus and Italy.
The winner of that game will qualify to next stage, where he would play
for 1-8 places, while other team can have a chance to end the tournament
on 9th place the best. Italian team controlled the game from first
minutes and despite Belarus team tried to storm Italians in the fourth
quarter, they were not able to get any closer. So Italy will face
Russia, Greece and Israel in Group E and Lithuania goes to "killing"
Group F where they will face Serbia/Montenegro, Latvia and France.
Czech Republic -
Lithuania57-101
Czech Rep: Bohacik 19, Sismilich 8, Rotrekl 7
Lithuania:
Mantas Ruikis (196-G/F-85) 21p+4r, Maciulis 19p+4r, Seibutis
19p+6r+3a, Jomantas 12p+6r, Ramanauskas 10p+4r
Italy -
Belarus64-53
Italy: Belinelli 22p+4r+4a, Antonutti 11p+4r, Lechtaler 9p+7r, Marino 8
Belarus: Parakhouski 9p+12r, Yafremau 9p+5r, Pustahvar 8p+4r

Group C
Russia already knew they had qualified to the next stage. That could be
the reason why Russian players did not take this game too seriously.
Slovenia (defending champion) is also a very ambitious team, which made
the game very attractive. Slovenians took lead in the first minutes of
the game and kept it till last minutes. Russians speed up in the last
quarter, but they were ...1 minute short to win the whole game. But the
REAL spectacle supposed to be a game between France and Croatia. The
winner of that team will have a change to play for the medals, while
loser would have a change for 9th position at the best. But the French
team was way better than their opponents. Croatians were playing equal
game only in 1st euarter. 3rd quarter knockout made by French team
practically ended the game. France will face Lithuania, Latvia and
Serbia/Montenegro in Group F, while Russia will play against Greece,
Israel and Italy in Group E.
Russia -
Slovenia64-65
Russia: Komarovskiy 16, Shabalkin 15p+6r, Sokolov 10p+6r, Vialtsev
10p+5r
Slovenia: Mocnik 18, Begic 17p+9r, Dragic 9p+4r, Rozman 7
France -
Croatia76-57
France: Larrouquis 17, Bokolo 15p+8r+5a, Cisse 10, Bendriss 8p+5r,
Mahinmi 8
Croatia: Simon 18p+4r, Markota 14p+7r, Lalic 8, Stipcevic 7

Group D
No surprised expected and nothing interesting could happen as after
first two days it was already obvious which teams would make it to the
top groups and which would play for lower positions. Serbia/Montenegro
(as usually) seems as the favorite of the tournament. Some specialists
predict that only Serbian team would be able to challenge Lithuania for
the title. But last few tournaments of disappointments for Serbian
teams, mean that combination of the most talented players does not mean
making the best team in the tournament. Let's see how the qusterfinals
round go. Serbia/Montenegro will play in Group F against Latvia,
Lithuania and France, while Israel will face Greece, Italy and host
Russia in Group E.
Israel -
Serbia & Mont.55-68
Israel: Kazarnovski 16p+7r, Ben-Chimol 7, L.Eliyahu 7, Hanochi 6
Serbia/Monten.: Tripkovic 15, Dragicevic 11, Pekovic 10p+10r, Rakovic
8p+4r
Spain -
Turkey78-53
Spain: Gasol 25p+13r, Suarez 18p+7r, Rodriguez 13p+6r+4a, Garcia 6
Turkey: Kavaklioglu 11, Erden 10p+7r, Ermis 9, Kacaniku 8

Day
2: Lithuania, Russia and Serbia/Mont. so far the best at the tournament
- Jul 10, 2005
In Group A Greece and Latvia are still undefeated
after they beat Ukraine and Germany respectively. But today evening will
be decisive game between both of them.
In Group B Lithuania proved to have the only goal - championship title.
In the second day of the tournament they crushed easily Belarus, which
outscored Czech Rep. in day 1 by 20 points. This time they were
declassed by much stronger Lithuania by ...44 points. In the other game
in Group B Italy defeated easily Czech Rep. by 21 points.
In Group C a big rotation in the standings as domestic Russia jumped to
the top being the only undefeated team. They upset France 76-60, while
Croatia recovered after loss to Russia in opening game and this time
they beat Slovenia by 19 points. It was incredible evening for Croat
Damir Markota (209-C/F-85), who scored 21 points and grabbed ...20
rebounds (!!!). Some experts consider this group as the strongest one.
In Group D Serbia/Montenegro and ambitious Israel are still undefeated.
Serbian team 26-points victory over Turkey was not a surprise, while
Israel beat Spain only after very tough fight 71-65.

Day
1: Lithuania, Greece, Belarus and Russia with very good start - Jul 9,
2005

The biggest surprise of day
one were very high victories of Belarus team over Czech Rep. (20 points
difference), Greece over Germany (29 points difference) and Lithuania
over Italy (32 points difference). Exciting game between Latvia and
Ukraine, where that first team won by just 1 point. In other games
Serbia & Montenegro beat Spain 80-73, Israel was better than Turkey
73-65 and France beat defending champions Slovenia 66-57.

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